


Til the Light Goes Out

by gomkyoongs



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Bodyguard, CBX as witches, Grim Reaper Kyungsoo, Grim Reapers, M/M, Red Velvet shows up briefly, Shapeshifter Jongin, Shapeshifting, Witches, Wolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 02:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21520549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gomkyoongs/pseuds/gomkyoongs
Summary: Jongin was reluctant, but curious, about being a bodyguard for a supposedly powerful witch family. That is until he meets Baekhyun, the witch he's to protect. During his time with the witch, Jongin learns more about himself and how dangerous the magical part of the city can be.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Kim Jongin | Kai, Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 68
Collections: EXO MONSTERFEST 2019





	Til the Light Goes Out

**Author's Note:**

> i have been dying to write this story for a while now and i'm so glad i was able to join monsterfest! this is my first time writing kaibaek and i hope i can write more of this pairing in the future! thank you to the mods for everything as i was dealing with a lot these past few months and they were so understanding again thank you orz thank you to my beta whom with i stayed up late with as we worked and edited this story. thank you to the those who read this story! i hope you all enjoy!!

“Why do I have to do this again?” Jongin asked.

“Because both your sisters have mates and you’re the only alpha in the pack that’s suitable for the job,” his father answered. “Now sit up straight. They’ll be here soon.”

Jongin sighed but did as he was told. Just because he didn’t have a mate or any kind of special duties in the pack didn’t make any sense as to why he, the son of the head alpha of the Kim pack, was to be a bodyguard for a family of witches.

The Byun family. He remembered Sehun talking about the family a few days ago after Jongin found out about how he would be given the job.

_The Byun’s are asking for a guard? Why? Aren’t they like the strongest coven in Seoul?” Sehun had asked._

_Jongin had just shrugged his shoulders, he didn’t keep up with witches. The packs and covens don’t usually interact with one another, but this was definitely going to grab everybody’s attention —the strongest wolf pack and witch coven in Seoul arranging a meeting. It did make Jongin curious though, why this family of supposedly powerful witches were asking for a wolf bodyguard when there were a lot of other magical beings that were more suitable for the job. _

So here he was sitting in the Byun’s living room with his father waiting for said family to arrive.

He looked around the room. It was a fairly large room with tall black walls, a painting hanging on one wall and large windows to his left. The room seemed empty, lacking decor, besides the painting on the wall, there were two sleek gray couches, he and his father were sitting on one while the other sat across from them. A simple black wooden coffee table in the middle.

They didn’t have to wait long before the sound of muffled voices and the loud clack of heels could be heard from outside of doors. When they opened, a man and a woman entered the room. 

The woman wore a dark blue high-waisted skirt with a white quarter sleeved button up. Her dark hair pulled back and down into a bun with a _binyeo_ through it. She held a black _jeonmo_ in her hands and a coat folded over her left arm.

While she looked to be in her late-thirties, the man behind her, was younger looking possibly in his early twenties, while the woman in her mid forties, wore black slacks with a white button up and a black turtleneck underneath. He was removing his long over coat and his _gat_ which revealed curly brown hair.

That was one way to tell witches from others, they tended to add traditional Korean wear into their everyday fashion. That and their blue eyes, all witches had some shade of blue as their eye color.

Both handed their items to the maid by the door, who took them and closed the doors before leaving.

Jongin and his father both stood as the witches walked closer, bowing in greeting.

“Mrs. Byun, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Jongin’s father greeted as he came up from his bow.

“Mr. Kim. I’m sorry that my husband couldn’t make it,” Mrs. Byun apologized, before motioning to the man next to her, “this is my son, Baekhyun.”

The man gave a warm smile before bowing again. “Hello.”

Mr. Kim smiled before he introduced Jongin, who also bowed.

“Thank you for agreeing to do this Mr. Kim,” Mrs. Byun smiled softly as they sat down. “I know this is probably not what you’re used to doing.”

At first, Jongin thought she was talking to his father but after he realized she was looking at him he gave a small shake of his head before answering. “Uh no ma’am, it’s fine really.”

He gave a quick glance towards her son, Baekhyun, who still had a small smile on his face. The witch sat straight with his hands in his lap as he listened to what his mother was saying.

“Now, I assume you both read the copies of the contract we sent you?” she said, her tone leaning towards stern, with a slight raise of her brow as she pulled said papers out of thin air. He was going to have to get used to this.

Both him and his father nodded.

“Good.” She gave a warm smile before looking back to Jongin. “Do you have any questions dear?”

He shook his head. “Uh, no,” he said after his father nudged him.

Mrs. Byun gave another smile. “Ok, well if you do end up having any you can ask me or Baekhyun.”

Jongin nodded letting out a soft ‘ok.’ He looked over at Baekhyun again who gave him a bright smile as Mrs. Byun continued on.

His father and Mrs. Byun talked a little more, Jongin and Baekhyun adding in their thoughts here and there throughout the conversation before they signed the papers.

Both children followed their parents out as Jongin’s father got ready to leave. Jongin noticed he was slightly taller than the witch, but realized that Baekhyun’s boots were probably giving him an extra inch or two.

“Call me or your mother if you need anything, alright.” Jongin’s father smiled softly.

With a nod and smile from Jongin, his father stepped forward and pulled him into a quick embrace. 

“Stay safe,” his father whispered as he pulled away giving him a serious look.

Jongin gave another nod. His parents, especially his mother, had already voiced their worries and opinions on this entire agreement. Witches were dangerous, and to non-magic beings they were to be avoided at all costs. Many of the members within the pack had their doubts whether or not they could trust them, but eventually they ended up accepting it.

He waved to his father as he drove away, leaving him with the two witches.

“Alright Jongin, we need to go over a few more things before you and Baekhyun can leave.” Mrs. Byun declared before turning back towards the house. 

Jongin quickly followed, stepping along side Baekhyun who was still smiling.

“Leave? Do you not live here?” Jongin asked, looking at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun shook his head. “Nope, I live farther within Seoul. Have you ever gone into the city?” The witch raised a brow curiously.

“A few times,” Jongin said as they followed Mrs. Byun down the hall. Most packs lived on the edge of the city or just outside it, since being right in the city can overwhelm their senses.

Baekhyun nodded as they entered another room different from the living room. This room was darker, the curtains drawn, leaving only a sliver of sunlight into the room. The wall to the right of the door was taken up from the ceiling to the floor by bookshelves. On the other side of the room were cabinets along the lower half of the wall with shelves placed above them overflowing with jars of various sizes and contents.

Mrs. Byun walked over to the left side of the room towards the cabinets and shelves to a table with a basin on it. She motioned for Jongin to follow her.

Hesitantly he walked forward, watching her as she dipped her fingers in the water filled basin.

“Your hands, please” she requested. Jongin hesitated slightly before laying his hands out the witch, who pressed her wet fingers onto each of his wrist.

“Uh, can I ask what you’re doing?” he questioned as she dipped her fingers in the water again and went behind his ears.

“This water has been purified into a non-visibility spell,” she put her fingers on his neck, “this will help keep away unwanted attention,” she informed, grabbing a towelette. As she dried her hands she looked over at the shelves.

“What kind of unwanted attention?” Jongin asked, watching as Baekhyun also dipped his fingers in the water.

“We’re unsure, to be exact,” Baekhyun answered, as he rubbed his fingers behind his ear. “Better safe than sorry.”

That left Jongin feeling uneasy. They weren’t sure? Shouldn’t they know? So they could tell him what he needed to keep an eye out for when it came to protecting Baekhyun?

Mrs. Byun grabbed a jar off the shelf, untwisting the lid as she walked towards Jongin. “Here smell this. It will help your senses adjust quicker when you get into the city.”

Jongin took the jar, bringing up to his nose, he looked down at the white powder in it. He was a little hesitant to take a sniff at it.

When he did, he tried not to gag. The smell was awful, it was like every bad scent mixed into one. He could see Baekhyun trying to hide his laughter behind his hand.

He handed the jar back to Mrs. Byun, wanting to get away from that as fast as possible.

She gave him a sympathetic smile.

“One more thing before you go,” she added, walking over to the bookshelves she took a small box nestled from in between the books. Jongin followed, trying to peek over her shoulder to see what was inside when he heard her opening it.

When she turned to face him, she was holding a necklace, the pendent hanging from the thin chain was starlike, shining brightly in the little bit of light coming into the room.

“This is the Byun family crest,” she handed him the necklace, “it has magic embedded in it to protect you,” she said as Jongin put the necklace on.

“If you’re ever in trouble just hold the star and say ‘ _l_ _uce stellarum invenient me_.’”

“ _Luce stellarum invenient me_?” he repeated looking at the necklace. “What does that mean?”

“‘Starlight find me.’ Any witch of the Byun coven will be notified that you are in danger and will be given your coordinates. And depending on the situation, if it’s too long to get out you can say ‘ _inlustris._ ’”

“ _Inlustris_ ….” Jongin nodded his head.

“Okay…can we go now?” Baekhyun piped up. He was leaning against the counter, rolling an orb from hand to hand.

His mother sighed. “Yes, Baekhyun you may go now.”

“Ok, thank you,” he sang as he went up to his mother, giving her a kiss on the cheek, “alright come on Jongin.” He walked away from the two, a maid already by the door handing him his coat and _gat_.

Jongin went to follow when he felt a hand on his arm. He turned to look at Mrs. Byun. “Have you ever fought a witch?” She raised an eyebrow.

He thought for a second before replying, “In the pack we're taught to defend ourselves, but no I’ve never been up against a witch. Why do you ask?”

Her eyes full of worry. “We believe a witch is after Baekhyun, but we aren’t entirely sure yet.”

“Why would a witch go after another witch?” Jongin asked. Weren’t there rules about that kind of stuff? Like coven rules or something similar to pack rules?

“Baekhyun’s magic is unique and very powerful, any witch would kill for it.”

Oh, great. That’s _lovely_. He was probably going to die protecting Baekhyun. Wonderful first day this was.

“One of Baekhyun’s friends can train you in combat with witches. I’ve already let him know,” she said. “You should probably get going now.” 

“Oh, ok, thank you Mrs. Byun,” Jongin bowed before heading to the door following Baekhyun.

Walking down the hallway, Jongin felt like he was going to throw up. What did he just sign up for?

“About time!” Baekhyun chirped once Jongin stepped out of the house. “Have you ever flown before?”

“What? Like on a plane?”

Baekhyun gave him a look, with a soft chuckle, he reached behind his back, and out of thin air pulled out a broom. The broomstick was made of black wood, the brush also black. “No, on a broom.”

Jongin gave him an incredulous look. “Uh…no.”

Baekhyun smiled. “Would you like to try?”

“Sorry, but no.”

He pouted. “Fine, I guess we’ll drive then.”

“Why do you live near Bukchon?” Jongin asked once they reached Baekhyun’s home.

“Because the energy surrounding the historic districts is great for witches,” Baekhyun stated as if everyone knew that.

Jongin rolled his eyes at the witch’s tone and followed Baekhyun inside. Baekhyun was already in the living room area while Jongin was taking off his shoes.

“Baekhyun! What’s with these suitcases and bags?” A voice shouted from farther inside the house.

The place looked surprisingly bigger than it did on the outside. Probably the use of magic. When he came into the living room, he saw a man looking slightly angry at Baekhyun and pointing at his luggage. How did it even get here?

The man turned his eyes away from Baekhyun to look at Jongin. “Hello, who are you?” the man smiled and walked towards him. “I’m Kim Jongdae.”

“Uh…Kim Jongin.”

Jongdae was shorter than him with blond hair and bright blue green eyes. Another witch.

“He’s going to be staying with us,” Baekhyun said. “He’s my bodyguard.”

Jongdae’s eyes widened. He looked at Jongin before looking back at Baekhyun. “You’re serious? Your parents really went through with it?”

Baekhyun hummed in response pulling out his wand and waving it towards Jongin’s things. His suitcase and bags slowly rose from the floor, before steadily levitating down the hall.

Before Jongin could ask what Jongdae meant, said man turned to him. “So, you’re a werewolf, right? Do we have to worry about you keeping us up all night howling at the moon or something?”

Jongin huffed. He didn’t get to answer before another voice spoke up.

“Jongdae be nice.” Another witch entered the room coming from the hall. He was also shorter than Jongin, black hair and baby blue eyes. He walked up to him shoving at Jongdae a little. “I’m Kim Minseok. Jongin, right?”

Jongin nodded causing Minseok to give him a gummy smile. 

Baekhyun began complaining about how he was starving as he moved towards the kitchen asking what they would be having for dinner. Jongdae followed him, saying that he would order something tonight.

“Mrs. Byun told me that you would need help with fighting witches,” Minseok said once the other two were out of ear shot. 

Jongin nodded again. “Yeah, we had a witch or two come visit and show us what they could do, but we never really fought against them.” 

“Do you have magic of any kind?” 

“Not that I know of…” Jongin said shaking his head. 

Minseok’s mouth turned into a pout. “Hmm…well we’ll figure it out. Ok.” He smiled up at Jongin, giving him a pat on the shoulder. 

Jongin nodded once again mumbling a soft ‘yeah.’

“Hey guys, you want chicken and pizza?” They heard Baekhyun shout from the kitchen. 

Minseok looked at Jongin who nodded his head before yelling back. “Yeah!” 

“Good, cause we already ordered.” Jongdae laughed as he came back into the room. Minseok rolled his eyes. Baekhyun followed behind the blond with his arms full of water, soju, and beer bottles. 

Minseok gave Jongin another pat on the shoulder before he went to go sit down on the couch. Jongdae practically gravitated towards him, resting his head on Minseok’s shoulder the moment he sat down. 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes as he set the drinks down, gagging at little at the two lovebirds. He turned to Jongin. “At least I won’t be third-wheeling with these two anymore since you’re here,” he said pointing his thumb back towards the couple on the couch. 

Jongin smiled as he took a seat in the chair next to the couch Jongdae and Minseok were sitting, while Baekhyun sat on the other end. 

“So, Jongin tell us a little bit about yourself,” Jongdae smiled brightly.

He grabbed a water bottle before speaking. “Well, uh, I live near Deoksan. I’m part of the Kim pack, my father is the Head Alpha….”

“Oh cool. I’ve heard about the Kim’s,” Minseok smiled. “There are some of you here in Seoul, right?”

Jongin nodded. “Yeah, not all of us live near Deoksan. Some live near the mountains or parks within Seoul.”

Minseok nodded.

“So, do you get affected by the moon?” Jongdae spoke up. Minseok shoved at him a little while Baekhyun rolled his eyes again.

“No…not really.”

“But you’re a werewolf, right?” Jongdae raised an eyebrow. Both Baekhyun and Minseok turned to Jongin giving him questioning looks.

He blushed a little. “Well not technically…. I’m more of a shapeshifter. Our whole pack is actually all shapeshifters.”

The three witches all nodded. “So, does that mean you can turn into other animals?” Jongdae asked enthusiastically.

“No, once we reach a certain age, we choose which animal we want to shift into permanently. Most of our pack are wolf shapeshifters, but we do have others that aren’t.”

The three nodded again, Jongdae whispering ‘cool.’

“Well I guess we should tell you a bit about ourselves too,” Minseok pointed at himself, “I’m an ice witch and part of the Byun Coven.”

“I’m a storm slash weather witch,” Jongdae grinned. “Specializing in lightning.” He added with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “Oh, I’m also part of the Byun Coven.” 

“And you already know me,” Baekhyun said pointing at himself.

“What kind of magic do you use?” Jongin asked. Remembering what Mrs. Byun had said earlier that day.

“I’m a light witch with the ability to see bits of the future.”

Jongin’s eyes widened. “Really.”

The three nodded.

“It’s not like I see it randomly in the day or anything. Sometimes I see the future in dreams or I can actively seek it out by using a reflective surface,” Baekhyun explained. 

“Is that something common among witches or is it kind of rare?” Jongin asked.

“Hmm…I don’t think it’s very common. Most witches have to perform special rituals during a specific time,” Baekhyun looked over at the other two, “What do you guys think?”

Jongdae shrugged while Minseok mulled it over a bit.

“I think it’s rare,” Minseok said. “I mean I’ve only met one other witch who could do something similar….” 

The looks on all three witches changed after he said that. Jongdae grabbed Minseok’s hand rubbing his thumb along the back of his hand. Jongin looked at them, seeing the look on Minseok’s face, he didn’t push the subject anymore. 

“Oh, the food’s almost here,” Baekhyun said, looking at his phone. “Come help me get it, Jongin.” He stood up from the couch and made his way out of the living room. Jongin quickly followed Baekhyun to the door. 

The atmosphere was still a little awkward as they ate. Jongin didn’t really know what to say and was afraid of bringing something up that he shouldn’t. So, he just let Jongdae and Baekhyun do most of the talking and nodded his head if he was asked something. 

There was hardly any food left after they finished eating. 

“Ah, it’s getting late,” Baekhyun said, looking at his watch. “We should head to bed. Come on Jongin, I’ll show you to your room.” He stood up from the couch and stretched his arms up, yawning.

Jongdae started arguing saying that Baekhyun needed to clean up, who argued back that Jongdae and Minseok do a good job at cleaning before motioning for Jongin to follow and heading down the hall. 

Jongin helped with his mess and followed Baekhyun. He could hear Jongdae grumbling about Baekhyun and Minseok laughing. 

“I hope you don’t mind sharing a room,” Baekhyun said as Jongin entered the bedroom.

Jongin shook his head as he looked around. It was simply decorated, a few posters hung on the wall, there was a keyboard piano against the wall next to the door. There were two beds a small one against the wall opposite the door and a slightly larger one against the wall to his left.

“The closet and bathroom are through that door,” Baekhyun said pointing to the door to the right of the room. “It’s the closet first then the bathroom. If there’s not enough space in the closet the beds have pull out drawers underneath so you can put clothes there too.”

Jongin nodded and walked towards his luggage and started unpacking.

“Did I bring up something that I shouldn’t have?” Jongin asked after a few minutes.

Baekhyun turned around from adjusting the books on the shelf above his bed. “What?”

“With Minseok….”

“Oh…” Baekhyun stopped and sat down on the bed, “yes and no, I guess? Minseok has his moments about it.”

“Can I ask what happened?”

“I don’t know much about it,” the witch shrugged his shoulders, “all I know is that he had a friend who could see into the future and he died somehow. It was really hard for Minseok. I think he blames himself for it,” Baekhyun said softly.

“Oh….” Jongin wasn’t sure what to say now so he went back and busied himself with unpacking. 

He had a hard time sleeping that night. 

The next morning Minseok woke him up. 

Jongin stumbled into the kitchen to find breakfast already waiting for him. He rubbed his eyes as he sat down at the table. Baekhyun and Jongdae already eating and talking about their plans for the day. 

“I’m just gonna play games today,” Baekhyun shrugged. 

Jongdae rolled his eyes. “You’re almost always playing games.” 

“What I’ve got nothing better to do….” Baekhyun pouted, picking at his food. 

“What are you doing today?” Jongdae smiled at Minseok. 

“I’m training Jongin,” he said before taking a sip of his coffee. 

Baekhyun and Jongdae both looked to Jongin, who just looked at Minseok. 

“We’re starting that today?”

Minseok nodded. 

“Where are you going?” Baekhyun asked. 

“I know a place not far from here.” 

“Can I come with? This sounds more interesting than playing video games.”

Minseok shrugged. “I don’t see why not,” he looked at Jongin, “you wouldn’t mind, would you?”

As Jongin shook his head, a small ‘yay’ came from Baekhyun before he continued eating happy now he had decent plans for the day.

The spot Minseok had planned to train in was only a five-minute walk from the apartment. It was in the basement of an old shop that hardly anyone went to anymore. The large room was nearly empty, the only objects occupying the space were a small table and a couch, which Baekhyun and Jongdae had immediately placed themselves on upon entering the room. 

Jongin dodged another ice shard that came at him, barely missing the second one that was close behind. 

“You’ve got to try and get closer, Jongin,” Minseok commanded from the other end of the room. “You need to be able to take out the target quickly to ensure Baekhyun’s safety.” 

Jongin flicked his tail in response. Minseok had suggested they start off with him in his wolf form before moving onto his human one. It made moving around a lot easier for Jongin, but it also made it easier for Minseok to land a hit, as he was a lot bigger now. He dodged another ice shard flying towards him. 

It had been almost a week now since he started his training with Minseok and he was hardly getting anywhere with it. 

Minseok hadn’t moved much from where he was standing, he may have adjusted his position once or twice but other than he wasn’t really putting up much of a defense. He was leaving himself wide open. 

The problem was every time Jongin would try to move in Minseok would throw a huge ice shard at him leaving him to retreat. The wolf shook his head and made his move. Dodging the ice shards but getting closer to Minseok at the same time. He realized Minseok could only throw a few large shards at a time, the rest weren’t as big.

Minseok noticed him getting closer and changed tactics, throwing groups of smaller shards and made decent spikes of ice sprout from the ground surrounding him.

Jongin easily jumped over the spikes and Minseok, landing behind the ice witch. He quickly turned around to face the other only to find an ice shard coming right at him. From the shocked look on Minseok’s face it seemed he wasn’t expecting Jongin to land so close. There was no way Jongin was going to be able to avoid it. He heard Baekhyun shouting his name. All he could do was close his eyes and wait. 

He felt a quick, cold breeze but no pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw all three witches gaping at him. He looked around for the ice shard but didn’t see anything.

“Did one of you get rid of the ice shard?” Jongin asked after he transformed back. The three were still staring at him with shocked looks on their faces.

Getting over the initial shock, Minseok broke out into a grin. “No.”

“Then what happened?”

“You stopped it.”

Jongin raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“You stopped the ice. It just like turned into snow before it hit you,” Jongdae exclaimed, waving his arms around as he was trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Jongin looked at him. “Really,” he pointed at himself, “I stopped it?”

Minseok laughed before walking over to him, a big smile on his face. “It looks like you have some kind of negation ability.”

He formed a snowball and sent it towards Jongin, who quickly threw his hands up and saw the snowball turn into a crystal-like dust before it even touched him. Jongin looked at his hands in amazement.

“This is good. Now we just need to figure out the extent of your abilities,” Minseok smiled proudly. “I’ve got a few books on magic negation, we’ll take a break for now before getting back to it, ok?”

Jongin nodded.

“Are we just going to forget that Jongin almost died?”

The three turned to look at Baekhyun, who still looked shocked.

“Hey, but he didn’t so it’s ok.” Jongdae grinned widely.

“But what if he didn’t have magic? He could’ve seriously gotten hurt!”

Jongin’s smile fell a little at the sight of Baekhyun’s worried face.

“Baek, I’m sorry. It’s my fault for going all out, but it was the only way to bring out Jongin’s abilities faster.” Minseok walked over to Baekhyun.

“I’m sorry too…,” Jongin said. He was the one to suggest that Minseok didn’t hold back.

Baekhyun looked at Jongin, a small pout on his face. “Just don’t do that again. Ok?”

Minseok and Jongin nodded. 

For the next two months, Jongin trained with Minseok, learning more about his abilities and the magic society within the city like who were friends/allies and who to avoid. Baekhyun usually stayed at the apartment or sometimes he would come watch them train with Jongdae. Jongin felt bad that Baekhyun was practically cooped up inside but the other reassured him that he wanted Jongin to train so he wouldn’t have issues protecting him.

They would go out occasionally whether it was to go out and eat, or just simply hang out with Baekhyun’s other friends. Baekhyun’s mother would check in on them every month and update them on what was going on. They still hadn’t figured out who it was that was after Baekhyun, which worried Jongin. He was always alert when they’d go out and even when they were in the apartment. 

It got to the point that he couldn’t even sleep. He would toss and turn, worried that someone would come in and take Baekhyun. Tonight, was one of those nights. 

“Jongin?”

He stopped moving at the sound of Baekhyun’s voice. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“Because you’ve been doing this for the past three nights.”

“Oh…sorry. I just—there’s been a lot on my mind lately is all….”

“Would you like to come sleep with me?” Baekhyun’s voice was soft and quiet.

Jongin sat up and looked over at him. Baekhyun had the blanket pulled all the way up to his face to where only his nose and eyes were showing but he wasn’t looking at Jongin. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I read somewhere that those who live in packs tend to sleep in a group or something like that,” Baekhyun mumbled. “Just hurry up before I change my mind….” He tried to make it sound like a threat, but it didn’t work.

Jongin smiled and grabbed his pillow before walking over to Baekhyun’s bed. The other scooted over as Jongin crawled underneath the covers, making sure there was enough space between them before laying down. Baekhyun’s scent immediately calmed him and he could feel his body relaxing.

“Baekhyun.”

He heard the other hum in response.

“Thank you.”

Baekhyun rolled over to face him. “You’re welcome.” 

Jongin smiled again before falling asleep.

The next morning Jongin woke up to something tickling his nose. Opening his eyes, he saw that Baekhyun had moved closer to him throughout the night. His head was tucked underneath Jongin’s neck, face buried in his chest with arms wrapped around his waist. Jongin tried to move but Baekhyun only tightened his hold on him.

Jongin smiled and decided that he didn’t need to get up right away.

When Baekhyun finally woke up and realized what he had done, the witch repeatedly apologized the entire morning, even after Jongin told him it was fine.

Baekhyun still offered his bed if Jongin ever needed it.

“A club?” Jongin raised an eyebrow at the suggestion where he was stretched out on his bed reading.

“Yeah, Jongdae knows a place in Hongdae. A lot of magical beings go there,” Baekhyun smiled excitedly as he walked into the closet. “He said we could use it, it'll help us destress or whatever.”

It’d been a couple weeks since Minseok told Jongin that he didn’t need to train as much anymore so he had more free time. But going to a club didn’t really sound like his kind of thing.

Jongin closed his book and sat up. “I don’t know. It’ll be really crowded and what if my senses get overwhelmed.”

“We have stuff for that. It’ll be fine.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes playfully, walking out of the closet with a handful of clothes. He dumped them out on his bed and started digging through them.

“Still…I don’t think it’ll be safe….”

Baekhyun turned to him. “It will be. We’ll have Minseok and Jongdae there. If you want, you can invite some of your friends too.”

Jongin was still a little hesitant. “Ok…”

Baekhyun smiled and went back to looking for an outfit. 

The club was loud and even though Jongin took something to help with his senses it still felt like a lot. 

Jongdae and Baekhyun had already started drinking and dancing. Minseok stayed back with Jongin to help lookout for anything suspicious. 

Baekhyun came over—more like stumbled—to Jongin to get another drink. 

“See I told you it’d be fun!” He beamed up at him. 

Jongin just nodded, taking a sip from his glass of water. Drinking was not an option for him, he wanted to be alert at all times. Plus, he didn’t really like the taste of alcohol. 

“Hey Jongin!” 

Jongin looked over to see Sehun walking through the crowd. He felt a little more at ease now, even though Sehun was probably going to drink. 

“Sehun, glad you could make it.” Jongin smiled. It’d been a while since he’d seen the other. They talked on the phone, but they rarely met up in person since Jongin took up the bodyguard job.

“Yeah, so how are things going?” Sehun asked as he ordered a drink.

Jongin shrugged. “Good, I guess. Almost died once.”

Sehun smiled as he took a sip from his glass. “That’s good.”

“Hi~” Baekhyun slurred as he leaned his body against Jongin’s for support.

Sehun looked at Baekhyun then to Jongin. “You must be Baekhyun?”

The witch had a big smile on his face and nodded happily. “Yep.”

“Jongin’s told me a lot about you.” Sehun smirked as Jongin glared at him.

Baekhyun looked up at Jongin. “Really?”

Jongin rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, yeah, I mean, I talk about Minseok and Jongdae too….”

“Hey, guys look who I found!” The four looked over to see Jongdae waving at them as he made his way through the crowd, with him a man in all black followed behind him.

“Hey Kyungsoo.” Minseok smiled going up to greet the other. “What are you doing here?”

Kyungsoo shrugged. “Baekhyun sent me a message—well messages—asking if I could stop by for a bit.”

Jongdae wrapped an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders. “Kyungsoo this is Jongin, Baekhyun’s bodyguard. Jongin this is Kyungsoo, he’s a Grim Reaper.”

Jongin froze when Kyungsoo looked at him, more like glared at him. He tried not to squirm under the other’s gaze as they greeted each other.

“Kyungsoo! You made it!” Baekhyun practically latched onto to the Reaper.

“Yeah.” There was a soft smile before he gently shoved the drunk witch off him.

Baekhyun kept trying to get Kyungsoo to drink as they talked but the other kept refusing. Jongin didn’t speak much, afraid he might say something that would cause the Reaper to glare at him again. 

A phone went off and Kyungsoo pulled one from his back pocket. “Ah, I’ve got to go.”

Jongdae and Baekhyun both pouted, whining about how he had just got here. Kyungsoo quickly said his goodbyes before putting on the black hat he was carrying and vanished. 

The two witches eventually stopped pouting and grabbed Sehun to go dance with them.

“Does Kyungsoo not like me?” Jongin asked Minseok.

“No. Why are you asking?”

“Well he was glaring at me the entire time….”

Minseok laughed. “He always does that. Kyungsoo has astigmatism so he glares a lot.”

Jongin nodded feeling relieved. He would hate it if a Grim Reaper didn’t like him. It was a little weird though. A God of Death having bad eyesight.

“Peek a boo.”

Minseok and Jongin turned to the voice to see a group of five girls walking towards them. All had dark hair except for one who had short blonde hair. Their eyes shades of blue. Great. More witches.

“Shit, it’s the Velvets,” Minseok mumbled under his breath.

Jongin looked at the witch, before looking back towards the group of girls. “Should we be worried?” he asked.

“No, not really. They just like to cause trouble most of the time,” Minseok huffed, taking a big sip from his drink.

“Hey, Minseok, it’s been a while,” one of them greeted almost coldly as she came up to the counter.

“Yeah, it has, Irene,” Minseok grumbled looking back into the crowd. “How are the girls?”

Irene chuckled. “Yeri and Joy are looking for hell to raise.” 

“It’s always the youngblood,” Minseok shook his head. “We like to have fun too.” One of the girls smiled with a raise of her eyebrows as she ordered a drink. “Wendy,” the male greeted. “That color looks nice on you,” he said, taking another drink from his glass. The witch smiled with a soft ‘thanks’ as she tossed her dark purple locks over her shoulder.

Baekhyun and the other two came back laughing together, their hair disheveled and damp from dancing.

“Hey, Baekhyun” the blonde one smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes, when he came up to Jongin.

Baekhyun’s smile faded a little. “Yeri.”

She gave him a smile as another one of the girls sauntered up to Jongin. “So, who’s this?” She asked with a raise of an eyebrow as she moved her heart-shaped sunglasses down from her eyes to get a better look at the unfamiliar face. Jongin moved slightly on the stool, the witch's sharp eyes gave him goosebumps.

Baekhyun lightly grabbed Jongin’s arm as he introduced himself. “I’m Jongin, Baekhyun’s bodyguard.” 

“You guys still haven’t found out who’s after you yet?” Joy, the tallest of the five girls, asked while the girl with the glasses introduced herself to Jongin. 

“No…” Baekhyun mumbled with a pout on his face.

“Come on, let’s go out and get some air,” Jongin suggested before the tension started to build up between the witches. 

Baekhyun nodded as Jongin wrapped an arm around his shoulder. As they made their way through the crowd Jongin bumped into someone. Quickly, he turned to apologize but stopped halfway when he caught an odd scent coming from the person. Looking at the man he noticed that he didn’t even acknowledge Jongin, his eyes were focused on the witch in his arms. Jongin brought Baekhyun closer to him as they exited the club.

Baekhyun leaned heavily on Jongin mumbling incoherently to himself as the shapeshifter led them away from the entrance. They walked a few feet down the sidewalk and stood in front of an empty alley.

He kept trying to think of what that odd scent was. He smelt it before, but he couldn’t remember where.

“Jongin.”

“Yes Baekhyun?”

“Did you have fun?”

Jongin looked at Baekhyun to see the other looking at him. “Yeah.”

Baekhyun’s smile shined brightly in the moonlight. “Good.”

The witch tripped a little but Jongin was quick to move his arm around his waist.

Baekhyun looked back up at him. “Jongin, do you like me?”

Jongin doesn’t answer as he caught the same scent from earlier. The scent, he realized, was the same as when he and his packmates would finish hunting. It was the smell of death.He looked over his shoulder but there was no one there, same when he looked in front of him and to his right. Looking towards the alley, he moved Baekhyun behind him when he noticed two figures moving in the shadows closer to them. Jongin could feel a growl rising in his throat as he recognized the man from earlier. 

“Who are you?” Jongin demanded.

The only responses he got were daggers flying through the air towards him and Baekhyun. Moving quickly he pulled Baekhyun out of the way. The witch stumbled a bit before Jongin grabbed him by the back of his shirt to avoid getting hit by another set of daggers.

Jongin turned back to the two before shifting. It would be easier if Baekhyun wasn’t drunk and could use his magic, but for now all Jongin could do was shield the witch. 

The two witches took a step back in surprise, the shock on their faces vanished just as quickly as they appeared, deciding now to reach for their wands. Jongin countered their attacks easily and made his way closer to them. 

As the shifter moved closer with each attack, the witches would take a step back. Realizing that Jongin was obviously trained to hold his own against witches, the two began to panic, their attacks becoming sporadic and completely missing Jongin. 

A figure moved behind him, Jongin looked back to see Baekhyun stumbling towards the alley wall as he tried to get his wand. One of the other witches attacked, the hit landing right above Baekhyun, blowing off a small chunk of wall and sending debris everywhere. 

“Jongin, let me help,” Baekhyun slurred, stumbling towards the shifter, wand in hand now.

Barking, Jongin tried to stop Baekhyun from getting in the way of danger, but the witch paid him no attention as he aimed his wand towards their attackers. A large blast flew from Baekhyun’s wand, missing it’s target completely and landing behind the two other witches.

The impact from the spell shook the ground slightly, causing everyone to stumble, Baekhyun falling over entirely. “That wasn’t supposed to happen,” he mumbled, reaching for his wand.

Jongin moved to Baekhyun nosing at his wand, trying to tell the witch to stop. The witch only swatted the dog away, with a “I’ve got this” that didn’t sound at all confident. Jongin’s ears perked up at the sound of footsteps from outside the alley. 

The two witches attacking them, began their assault again, this time their aim was spot on. Jongin threw himself at Baekhyun, covering the smaller’s body with his own to protect him from the oncoming attacks.

But they never came. Looking down the alley, he could see three of the Velvets, wands ready and behind him was Minseok with the rest of the Velvets. Irene’s wand pointed in Jongin and Baekhyun’s direction. A protection spell had been cast by the leader of the girls, stopping the attacks. 

The two witches noticing they were surrounded, moved to attack both ends of the alley. The Velvets easily counterattacked, being careful not to hit their companions. “Minseok grab Baekhyun,” Irene ordered, Minseok doesn’t hesitate. He moved quickly to help Baekhyun up onto his feet and out of the alley. 

Dropping the protection spell, Irene stepped forward with Seulgi to Jongin’s side. “Who are you?” Seulgi yelled, wand pointed at the attackers. “What do you want?” Joy called from the other end. 

The attackers gave no answer, only another round of attacks. “So that’s how you want to play?” Seulgi challenged as she moved forward. “Jongin, go. I’ll protect you.” The shifter nodded as he moved with the other witch. 

Slowly, the Velvets and Jongin closed in on the two. Wendy landed a hit that disarmed one of the attackers, his wand flying to the ground. 

“We don’t play a losing game.” Seulgi smirked, an evil glint in her eyes as she pointed her wand at the two trapped witches. Jongin let out a growl as Irene stepped forward. “We won’t ask this again. _Who are you_?” 

Instead of an answer, there was a flick of the wrist and the two witches seemed to drop to the ground disappearing in a cloud of smoke. “Stop them!” 

All of their attacks missed their target, as the shadow glided across the ground and out the alley.

“Damn it!” Yeri cursed throwing her wand to the ground and stomping. Joy huffed with a roll of her eyes. 

“Is everyone ok?” They heard Minseok ask from behind them. “Did they get away?” 

Yeri fumed, snatching her wand off the ground and marched back towards the bar, Joy following behind her. With a sigh Irene answered. “We’re fine, and yes, they got away.”

Minseok frowned. “Well, at least nobody got hurt.” Jongin shifted back. “Where’s Baek?”

They walked out of the alley to find Jongdae and Baekhyun sitting down, holding each other in their drunken stupor. 

“They’ve had way too much to drink.” Minseok sighed, rubbing his temples. Seulgi shook her head in amusement, before she turned to Jongin. “Do you know who those two were?” The shifter shook his head. 

“Do we know if they’re after Baekhyun?” Irene asked, watching said witch mumble incoherently to his friend. 

“I ran into one of them while in the bar and he didn't even acknowledge me. He was just watching Baekhyun.” 

“But witches don’t just attack other witches,” Wendy added in, “The head of the coven deals with any problems their own witches cause.” She looked to Jongin, seeming to be informing him on the matter as the others already knew.

A soft snore pulled Jongin’s attention away from the witches, he looked down to see Baekhyun and Jongdae dozing off, the latter already asleep. 

“I think we should head out.” Jongin turned back to the witches.

Minseok nodded. “Thanks for your help, Irene.” 

“Anytime,” she returned, “We’ll let you know if we find anything out.” 

“Yeri, isn’t going to let this go,” Seulgi chuckled, moving towards the bar door. “See you guys.” With a wave over her shoulder she disappeared through the door.

Wendy called them a cab while Minseok and Jongin move to pick up their drunken friends off the sidewalk. With a smile and the cab arriving, Wendy disappeared into the building as well.

Before Minseok got into the car, he heard Irene murmuring softly, her wand still in hand down by her side moving in slow circles. 

“Thanks again, Irene.” He smiled. “Don’t go around causing any trouble.”

“I can’t keep any promises.” Her soft features turned into a smug grin, before turning around following the others into the bar.

With a shake of his head, he got in the car and they drove away. 

  
  


When they arrived home Jongin and Baekhyun stumbled out of the car, while Minseok fought with Jongdae, the latter whining about how it was warm in the vehicle and not wanting to leave. Minseok rolled his eyes, giving Jongin the ok to take Baekhyun inside. “We’ll be a while, get him to bed.” With a nod Jongin helped Baekhyun to the front door.

Jongin took off his shoes and helped Baekhyun with his own, after seeing the witch almost hit the floor trying to take them off. They slowly made their way to the bedroom and the moment they reached it, Baekhyun planted face first into his bed.

Jongin shook his head at the other.

“Hey.”

He turned to see Minseok standing in the doorway. Jongin walked over to the other as to not disturb Baekhyun. “Yeah.”

“Before we left, Irene placed a protection spell on us, along with an untraceable charm. So you can rest well tonight, she’s the best at protection spells and charms.”

Jongin nodded. That was a relief, he really didn’t want to have to deal with anymore trouble tonight. Saying goodnight, Minseok headed back to his room. Jongin closed the door and started walking to the bathroom to wash up.

When he came back out, he noticed Baekhyun sitting up.

“Hey, you feeling okay?” He asked walking over to the bed. 

Baekhyun shrugged and pouted. “You didn’t answer my question earlier….”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Jongin fumbled. “What was it again?”

Baekhyun’s pout deepened. “Do you like me?”

“Of course, I like you Baekhyun. Why wouldn’t I?” Jongin smiled at him.

“If you do, then why don’t you show it?”

Jongin raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Like Minseok and Jongdae…” he mumbled.

Oh. _Oh._ Baekhyun meant like _like_ him. 

“O-oh...um….” Jongin rubbed the back of his head, cheeks turning slightly pink. He did like Baekhyun and over the past few months he’d grown really fond of the witch and his crazy antics. Baekhyun made him comfortable and welcomed, Jongdae and Minseok did too, but with Baekhyun it seemed different. He wasn’t sure how to explain it, he just knew that he liked being with the other. 

He looked at Baekhyun, who was now sprawled out on the bed asleep. Jongin smiled at him.

Jongin leaned over and brushed the hair away from Baekhyun’s forehead, leaving a small kiss, before lying down beside the witch and falling asleep.

Baekhyun groaned as the light shone in through the window. He lifted a hand to cover his eyes before rolling onto his side away from the harsh morning light. His head wasn’t pounding, it was a tolerable ache. Hearing the door open, he brought his hand down to see Jongin walking in with a glass of water. 

“Oh hey, you’re up.” Jongin smiled. “How are you feeling?” 

Baekhyun sat up as Jongin handed him the glass of water and two painkillers. “Not too bad, I guess.” 

“That’s good,” Jongin said joining him on the bed. He played with the bedsheets, not looking at the witch. “Do you remember anything that happened last night?” 

Baekhyun set the empty glass down on the nightstand and hummed as he thought about last night. 

“Um...let’s see. Well I remember Kyungsoo showing up…mmm then I remember the Velvets were there too at some point…” Baekhyun furrowed his brows as tried to remember more. “Then I remember being outside….”

He gasped and looked at Jongin. “Oh my god, we were attacked!” He cupped Jongin’s face bringing it closer to him. “You aren’t hurt are you!?” Baekhyun’s eyes scanned quickly across Jongin’s face for any injuries. 

Jongin just smiled. “No, I’m alright. Minseok and the Velvets showed up right in time, before anything bad happened.” 

“Are you sure?” Baekhyun was still searching for any signs of injury. 

Jongin placed a hand over his. “Yes, I’m sure…. Do you remember anything else?” 

Baekhyun brows furrowed again. “Mmm, I remember coming home and….” 

His eyes widened as he remembered what he had asked Jongin. Baekhyun pulled his hands away from Jongin’s face and laughed a little, pink dusting his cheeks. “Ah, no I don’t remember anything else after that.” 

Baekhyun wanted to crawl underneath the covers and never come out. He couldn’t believe he’d ask something like that. 

He was so caught up in his embarrassment that he doesn’t notice Jongin’s smile faltering. “Oh ok.”

Baekhyun side glanced at him. “Why did I say something? I usually say some dumb things when I’m drunk….” Maybe Jongin hadn’t heard him ask that question last night. He sent a silent prayer as he waited for the other to answer.

Jongin’s cheeks turned a little pink. “N-no you didn’t say anything…. Well, you did, but it wasn’t anything stupid.”

“O-oh what’d I say?” Baekhyun was screaming internally. Why did he ask that?! Does he really want to know what Jongin was about to say? Yes and no. 

Jongin brought a hand up and began tugging a little at his own earlobe. “You asked...if I liked you….” 

“Ah….” Baekhyun wanted to scream into his pillow. He started laughing trying to ease the awkwardness before it came. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to put you in the spotlight like that.” It’d be best if they dropped it right here. He doesn’t remember if Jongin had answered the question or not, he was too afraid of either answer.

“It’s ok...I was just a little...surprised by the question is all. But you fell asleep before I could give you my answer.”

Now would be the perfect timing for Minseok or Jongdae to bust down the door and interrupt. Please. 

“O-oh it’s ok. You don’t have to give me an answer. I was drunk.” Baekhyun moved to get off the bed but Jongin grabbed his hand gently pulling him back down. Baekhyun’s face was beet red as he turned to look at the other whose face was almost the same color as his. 

Baekhyun was surprised by the small kiss Jongin left on his cheek. “I like you too, Baekhyun.” Jongin’s gaze never left Baekhyun’s as he gave a shy smile to the witch.

Later that day, Baekhyun’s mother called for him to join her for lunch at the family house. 

“Hi Mom.” Baekhyun smiled brightly at the woman, but his smile faltered when he noticed her concerned bordering angry facial expression. He noticed his mother had sounded a little tense over the phone.

“Mom, wh—”

“You were attacked last night?” she yelled, slamming the door behind her son. Jongin bowed his head in disappointment. “Explain yourselves!” Baekhyun’s mother pointed towards the living room, both boys moved quickly to said room. 

The click of his mother’s heels was deafening on his ears as she paced across the living room. “You’re lucky your father isn’t here,” she chastised, placing herself on the couch opposite the two. A fire rose in her eyes as she watched Baekhyun, waiting for him to start talking.

“Well, Jongin’s been working so hard, we decided to take a little break. Go out and have some fun,” Baekhyun began shyly, looking over at his mother, “Jongdae suggested we go to a club, so that’s what we did. Jongdae and I had a few drinks, Minseok did too, but you know his tolerance is higher than mine and Dae’s so he probably had more than a fe-”

“Baekhyun.” Said boy flinched at the sternness of his mother’s voice.

“S-sorry,” he stammered, gripping his knees as he continued, “Jongin took me outside to cool off and get some fresh air. And then two witches showed up and attacked us. Jongin protected me though. Like he’s supposed to.” Baekhyun smiled at Jongin, the shifter was hesitant, but returned the smile as Baekhyun continued. Baekhyun’s mother raised an eyebrow at the interaction.

“A-and I actually don’t remember a lot after that.” The witch trailed off quietly. His mother’s gaze moved to Jongin. “Mr. Kim? Can you continue?” Jongin nodded frantically.

“Y-yes. I protected Baekhyun from the witches’ attacks, but when they realized they were being cornered, their attacks became hectic.” He explained. ”And Baekhyun was in the line of fire, luckily the Velvets and Minseok showed up in time to help me. Minseok got Baekhyun out of the way while the Velvets and I went after the attackers. In the end though, they got away.” Jongin finished, looking towards Mrs. Byun. 

The silence that followed nearly suffocated Baekhyun. He looked at Jongin, who was looking back at him, looking just as worried as he was. Then he turned to his mother, her cold expression faced towards Jongin before her eyes moved to her son. Baekhyun froze, waiting for his mother to begin lecturing him about how irresponsible and reckless he was.

Instead of a lecture and more yelling, his mother’s face softened and she deflated, a soft smile on her face. “I’m so happy you’re ok Baekhyun.” He blinked dumbly at her. “It seems we hired the right person for the job. Thank you Jongin, for protecting our son and returning him home safe and sound.” 

Both boys blinked at the sudden change in the witch’s mood, they looked at each other, then back to her. 

“Well, let’s have lunch,” she chirped as she stood, moving towards Baekhyun and taking his arm as the three walked to the dining room.

The lunch went smoothly, they talked about Jongin’s training and any shenanigans Jongdae was getting into lately.

“Thank you for lunch, Mom.” Baekhyun kissed his mother’s cheek as he grabbed his coat. “I’m sorry for worrying you, it won’t happen again. We’ll be more careful.” His mother leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. 

“Please do.”

Baekhyun nodded, as he walked out the door. Jongin pulling on his coat as he followed. “Oh wait Jongin.” Mrs. Byun called softly. Stepping forward, she fixed the lapel of his coat.

“Protect him with your life, Jongin,” the witch said softly, as she smoothed out nonexistent wrinkles on his coat. “If anything were to happen to him, I don’t know what I would do.” 

Jongin gently took Mrs. Byun’s hands. “I will, I promise.”

Over the next few weeks, Minseok intensified Jongin’s training.

Claiming that this time, Jongin had help, who’d to say he’d be that lucky the next time around?

Jongdae would join in with the training as Jongin needed to know all the different kinds of magic there were. 

The Velvets would stop by with what information they had and would also help with Jongin’s training. Jongin absolutely dredded when they came by. It was never one on one with them, it always changed two against one, to three, to four, and sometimes all five of them. The girls were ruthless and at the end of the training period Jongin could hardly lift a finger or barely get a word out. 

Besides having double the training thrown on him, Jongin also had to worry about another, completely harder thing. And that were his feelings for Baekhyun. 

Even though he told Baekhyun he liked him and Baekhyun felt the same, not much had changed between the two. They were a little more affectionate with each other, hands or gazes lingering longer than they should or cuddling up on the couch to watch a movie or play video games. It made Jongin even more protective when they went out, worried that his feelings would end up getting in the way and he wouldn’t be able to protect Baekhyun like he should.

So, for now he didn’t push for anything, the lingering gazes and cuddles on the couch were all he could do for now. 

Baekhyun yawned as he tried to stretch, but with Jongin’s arms wrapped around him, it was a little difficult. After spilling their feelings out to each other, Jongin confessed that he actually liked sleeping in Baekhyun’s bed, so they got rid of Jongin’s bed and shared the witch’s. 

He smiled at the other, bringing a hand up and cupping Jongin’s face. He let his thumb gently rub against the other’s cheek before leaning over and leaving a quick kiss on Jongin’s nose. 

Baekhyun laid there a little longer before carefully slipping out and going to the bathroom. 

As he finished washing his face, he grabbed a towel and began patting his face dry. When he looked up at the mirror he found it black. He gasped and stumbled back. The darkness began to shift as it swirled and changed into a full moon. 

Baekhyun took a step towards the mirror until his hips was digging into the counter. The moon changed into a picture of a bridge over the Han River. 

His face went pale as he saw a crow fly over the bridge before the scene changed again to a sky full of twinkling stars. 

Baekhyun had to grip the counter edge to keep himself up. The moon and stars weren’t making any sense, but the bridge and the crow did. 

Someone was going to die. 

Wanting to not think about the vision, Baekhyun decided to go out to Dongdaemun Plaza to see a new exhibit that was being held there for the next couple of months. Jongdae and Minseok politely declined, well Minseok did, saying they already had plans. 

So that’s how Baekhyun and Jongin ended up at Dongdaemun Plaza, on a fine early spring day. The exhibit was of a famous witch who made vivid paintings that moved. 

They spent about two hours walking through the exhibit, taking their time looking at the art, and each other. By the time they finished walking through, the Plaza was closing. Jongin grabbed Baekhyun’s hand as the place became more crowded as people were leaving. 

They left the Plaza still holding hands. Neither bothering to let go. Baekhyun leaned in closer to Jongin as they walked, leaving no space between the couple.

They walked along the busy road until they came across a set of stairs leading down to the Cheonggyecheon stream. The noise from the busy and crowded streets began to fade away as they walked along the wide path by the stream.

Jongin listened to the sound of the running water and the soft pad of their footsteps. Other than that, it was quiet. Maybe a little too quiet. 

There were hardly any people around, making his senses go on high alert. They needed to get out of here and back up to the road.

“Jongin, is something wrong?” He turned to find Baekhyun looking at him, face full of concern. Jongin glanced to the side to see if anyone was behind them, Baekhyun was quick to notice, turning his head in the same direction. “Is someone following us?”

“I don’t know, but we should get out of here,” Jongin warned. He looked forward and saw there was a bridge up ahead and stairs leading back up to the road.

He wrapped an arm around Baekhyun, quickly walking towards the bridge. Baekhyun moved to pull out his wand. The scent of death reached Jongin’s nose. This was not good, he needed to get Baekhyun out of here now.

“Baek, your necklace now,” Jongin demanded.

Baekhyun doesn’t hesitate as he grabbed the pendant, whispering ‘inlustris.’

Just as they got close enough to the stairs a figure appeared at the top. Jongin growled as he turned his head to see two more witches behind them. Baekhyun clung closer to him, gripping his wand tightly as three more witches appear in front of them. 

Jongin moved to shift but stopped short as he felt his body become heavy and he collapsed to the ground.

“Jongin!” Baekhyun knelt down beside him, eyes wide. 

“Sorry, we’re not taking any chances against you, shifter,” the witch standing at the top of the stairs said as he made his way down. “We know you can’t stop our magic if you don’t see it coming.” He grinned down at the two. 

Baekhyun glared at the other before looking back at Jongin. He felt Baekhyun put something in his pocket before whispering, “Find me.” 

Jongin tried to grab Baekhyun as he stood to face the group. Jongin should be the one protecting Baekhyun, not the other way around. He wanted to tell Baekhyun to run but he couldn’t even open his mouth. 

Baekhyun didn’t move as he stared at the ground. One of the witches behind him moved just the slightest and Baekhyun was quick to whip around and knock him down. 

This caused an array of magic shooting from all directions as Baekhyun fought off the witches. 

Eventually one of them got close enough to tackle Baekhyun to the ground, knocking his wand out of his hand. He started throwing kicks and punches but was no match against the larger man. 

Baekhyun was still struggling as they brought him up, all had their wands pointed at him. 

“Take the witch to the Mistress,” the leader of the group ordered.

“What do we do about the wolf?”

“Get rid of him.”

“Just dump him somewhere or….”

“No, you moron, kill him. Go throw him in the river or something as long as  _ he’s dead. _ ”

“No!” Jongin could hear Baekhyun shout. “Jongin get up! Please! Jongin!”

Baekhyun continued shouting for him, fighting the other witches’ hold on him but his shouting began to die down before stopping altogether. Jongin opened his eyes a little to see them dragging an unconscious Baekhyun away.

He felt himself being lifted and taken in the opposite direction before he blacked out.

Baekhyun woke up feeling cold. He sat up but immediately regretted it. There was a pounding in his head and his limbs felt heavy. The bright light shining down on him caused him to squint. Lifting his hand to cover his eyes was draining as he tried to take in his surroundings. The light only gave away a bit of the space around him, but there was only the concrete floor he was lying on. 

“Oh, look the little witch is awake.” A voice came from the darkness. 

Baekhyun quickly turned his head around to try and find the source of the voice but could only groan and hold his head. He blindingly searched for his wand. 

“Your wand? I’m so sorry, but I had to take it away,” the voice came closer, “wouldn’t want you pulling any tricks to try and escape.” 

Baekhyun looked up and scrambled back as quickly as his body would let him. 

In front of him was a woman, or at least that’s what it looked like to him. The figure’s face was pale except for the dark lipstick and shadows shrouding her eyes, making the icy blue of her irises pop **.** Black ram horns rested atop the witch’s head accompanied with a black crown. She smiled as she reached a hand out to Baekhyun, who moved further away from her. Her fingers almost claw like with her long black rings on her fingers ending in sharp edges. Looking up her arm, Baekhyun noticed that it was black all the way to her elbows. 

Baekhyun swallowed before speaking. “Who are you?” he asked, praying that she wouldn’t hear the small shake in his voice. 

The witch smiled, her teeth shining in the light. “You can simply call me Mistress.” 

“Where am I? Why’d you kidnap me!”

She tsked at him. “I can’t tell you where we are and don’t worry, I’ll send you back home once I get what I want.” 

“What do you want?” Baekhyun continued to move away from the witch. “Wait.” he looked around the room, “what did you do with Jongin!” 

“Who? Oh, you’re little puppy,” the witch laughed, “he’s not here.” 

“What did you do to him? I swear if you laid a single finger on him I’ll—” Baekhyun stood as he came face to face with the witch, the anger pushing away any fear that he felt. 

The witch was taken aback by Baekhyun’s action, her shock quickly turned into a wicked grin that made Baekhyun’s insides twist. “My, my,” she began to walk around Baekhyun, “I have a feisty little witch on my hands, don’t I?” 

Baekhyun turned to keep an eye on her. “Don’t ignore me! What did you do to him!” His hands began to glow. 

“You’re pup?” she inspected her nails, watching the light catch on her rings, “he’s probably at the bottom of the Han by now.” 

Baekhyun stumbled back. “Wh-What? N-no, you’re lying!” His hands grew brighter. 

The witch smirked. “Don’t believe me. Here let me show you.” She waved her hands and black smoke appeared before them, the center cleared away to show an image of a figure underwater struggling. 

“J-jongin!” Baekhyun rushed forward, feeling completely helpless as he watched the other drown. 

Tears pricked at his eyes as he watched Jongin struggle to breathe before he finally stopped moving. The scene and smoke vanished as Baekhyun tried to control his breathing. 

“See, I told you.” He heard the witch say behind him. 

Baekhyun screamed as he turned on the witch throwing his hands up and sending beams of light at her. 

She easily dodged his attacks before snapping her fingers. A ring of light surrounded them and a symbol formed within the circle. Baekhyun ended up falling to his knees as a huge weight fell on him. The witch grabbed him by the chin with a clawed hand, leaving a small scratch on his cheek as she smiled wickedly. 

“Don’t worry dear. You’ll be joining him soon.” 

Jongin kept going in and out of consciousness, barely able to hear or acknowledge anything around him. He woke up slightly to see that he was in the back of a car, the lights of the city blurring and mixing as the car moved through the streets.

When he came to again, he could feel the wind blowing at his face. The smell of water reached his nose. Opening his eyes, he was met with the sight of the Han River. He tried to move his body but he could barely move a finger. He needed this spell to wear off now or he was going to drown. He had no idea if anyone was coming—if they were, they needed to hurry.

The two witches who had been carrying him set him down against the railing to catch their breath and surveying the area for any possible onlookers.

Jongin kept trying to move his body, anything, eventually he was able to close his hand into a fist and open it, along with a foot to move but nothing else.

“Come on, let's get this over with already,” one of them huffed.

Panic rose in Jongin as the witches moved closer to him. As they stepped towards him, he picked up the scent of ozone and could feel static in the air.

He saw a bright light flash before him and one of the witches getting hit, falling over the railing and down into the river.

Jongin heard a shout as he felt the weight lifted on his body. He went to move his hand to find that he could move entirely again. Using the railing Jongin pulled himself to his feet, he looked over to Minseok and Jongdae standing over one of the witches, lying unconscious on the ground.

“Jongin! Are you okay?” Minseok ran up to him, looking him over for any signs of injuries.

“I’m fine,” he reassured him.

“Sorry it took us so long to get to you,” Jongdae kicked at the witch laying on the ground, “getting from one place to another around here, even when flying, can take a while.”

“And the coordinates that our brooches were giving us were changing too fast for us to keep up, so we waited for it to stop moving.”

Jongin nodded. “I’m just glad you got here before they threw me into the river.”

“What happened?” Minseok faltered, looking around before looking back at him. “Where’s Baekhyun?”

That’s when Jongin felt his stomach drop.

“We were attacked. They…they took him.” He felt sick to his stomach, thinking about what could be happening to Baekhyun right now. “I don’t know where they went.”

Minseok’s brows furrowed together trying to think. “Does he have his necklace?”

Jongin looked down and pulled the said piece of jewelry from his pocket. “No…he gave it to me….”

Jongdae walked over to them. “Do you know who they were?”

“No but they talked about a Mistress or something, I think,” Jongin replied.

Minseok’s face went pale. “Are you sure?”

Jongin nodded his head and Minseok’s whole mood shifted. “We need to find him  _ now _ . She’ll kill him.”

“What!” Jongin and Jongdae shouted together. “Do you know them Minseok?” Jongdae asked.

Minseok sighed, looking to the ground. “I’ve met her before yes,” he looked at Jongdae and then Jongin before looking away again, “it’s a long story. We can talk about it after we save Baekhyun.” 

“Oh, hey guys.”

The three looked over to find Kyungsoo standing next to the witch on the ground.

“Kyungsoo? What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was just enjoying my night when I got a message saying that there were going to be some deaths in this area,” Kyungsoo looked around, “where’s the other?”

“Oh, uh he’s in the Han…” Jongdae murmured gesturing towards the railing.

Kyungsoo hummed before crouching down next to the body. He collected the soul before walking over to the railing. “You guys wanna tell me what’s going on here?”

“These two witches were trying to dump Jongin into the river!” Jongdae exclaimed.

Kyungsoo hummed again. “Where’s Baekhyun?” he asked after collecting the other soul.

“We don’t know, that’s what we’re trying to figure out now,” Minseok said.

The Grim Reaper nodded. His phone pinged. He looked at the message. “Well there’s gonna be another death not too far from here in a couple of hours, so I should probably head over there.”

The Reaper turned away getting ready to leave when Jongin called out, “Wait!”

Kyungsoo looked back with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you know who it is?” Jongin asked frantically.

Minseok and Jongdae’s eyes widened at the question.

“Let me check…” Kyungsoo went quiet as he scrolled through his messages, “it says it’s another witch…. I can’t tell who, the names are changing too much.”

Jongin turned to look at Jongdae and Minseok. “It has to be Baekhyun.”

Minseok nodded. “It might be. Kyungsoo, where is this supposed to happen?”

Kyungsoo looked back down at his phone. “Hmm…in Gwanghwamun near the mountain.”

“Ok, let’s go then.” Jongin nodded towards the witches, who were already reaching for their brooms.

“Here, you can ride with me, Jongin,” Minseok said giving the other some room to get on. Jongin gulped but got on.

“Hey Kyungsoo, wanna ride with me?” Jongdae asked looking over at the Grim Reaper.

Kyungsoo looked at Jongdae then at the broom then back at Jongdae. “No thanks,” he said before putting his hat on and disappearing.

Jongdae pouted, mumbling about how he wasn’t  _ that _ bad at flying.

Jongin wrapped his arms around Minseok’s waist as they began to move higher in the air. He closed his eyes as they continued going upward, only opening them when he felt the wind blow hard at his face to see the bright, colorful lights of the city shining below them.

Baekhyun felt weak as he lay curled up on the ground. His vision kept going in and out as his magic was being slowly siphoned out of him. 

He had tried to drag himself out of the spell circle but hadn’t made it far before he was dragged back to the center. 

He rolled onto his back and stared up at the light, which he realized was the full moon. Had it always been that bright? 

His eyelids grew heavy from the soft chanting of the spell the witch was reciting and the lack of energy. 

Baekhyun gasped and let out a blood curdling scream, back arching off the ground as the witch continued chanting. 

“Mmm…it’s hard to tell if anyone’s standing guard or not,” Jongdae informed softly, peaking through the bushes towards the building they were sure Baekhyun was being held in. Even though the moon was out there was a large shadow casted by the building, so they couldn’t see if anyone was standing in front of it.

“Hey guys, what took you so long?” Kyungsoo’s voice coming from behind them.

The two witches jumped. Jongdae had a hand gripping over his heart, ready to start complaining but Minseok pulled him down and covered his mouth.

Jongin was still looking out towards the warehouse. “There’s two witches standing out in the front. And two groups of two patrolling around the building.”

“Ok, so Minseok and I will distract them while you go in and get Baekhyun.” Jongdae nodded moving to get back up, but Minseok brought him down again.

“No, these witches are powerful. If they see us coming, we won’t stand a chance against them,” Minseok said. “It’s better if we take them by surprise like on the bridge, ok.”

“Jongdae, you go that way and I’ll go this way. Jongin, you’ll wait for my signal and we’ll meet at the entrance, ok?” Minseok looked at the two as he explained their plan.

“And I’ll sit here and wait to collect the souls,” Kyungsoo said getting comfortable on the ground.

The three looked at him. “Right,” Minseok said before they split ways. 

Jongin waited with Kyungsoo. He could see Minseok and Jongdae moving to the opposite ends. Thunder roared in the distance, even though there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, before he saw a quick flash coming from the left. Jongin turned his attention back to the front of the building where two guards were still standing. He heard a whistle and saw Minseok standing to the guards’ right. Before either of the two could make any noise, the ice witch sent a huge ice block at them, sending them flying. 

Jongin headed out to Minseok, Kyungsoo mumbling a quick ‘good luck’ to him. Jongdae was already with Minseok when Jongin got to them. 

“Ok, we don’t know how many of them are inside so—” Minseok was cut off by a scream coming from inside.

“That was Baekhyun!” Jongin shoved past the two witches and pushed open the door. Minseok calling out to Jongin as the shapeshifter ran inside. 

Jongin stood shocked. Jongdae gasped beside him and whatever Minseok was about to say died in his throat at the sight before them. 

There was Baekhyun, in the center of the room a magic circle around him. On the right was a tall figure standing at the edge, strings of light flowing into clawed hands. 

“No!” Minseok created a large ice shard sending it flying towards the figure. The ice never hit its target as it exploded halfway there. 

Jongin and the two witches stumbled back as large shadow-like creatures rose from the ground and charged at them. 

Minseok and Jongdae started sending ice and lightning at the creatures as Jongin started making his way to Baekhyun. He jumped back when one of the creatures stopped him. 

“Minseok, stop that witch! I’ll deal with these things!” Jongdae called out moving closer to Jongin. 

Minseok nodded as he made a path through the creatures. 

“Jongin, stay close,” Jongdae said as the creatures started to surround them. The witch got down on one knee and touched the ground with both hands. Taking a deep breath, his eyes began to glow brightly as lightning began to strike the ground and the creatures. Jongin opened his eyes to see that the creatures were no longer there. 

He turned to Minseok to see he was closing in on the other witch. 

Minseok threw a group of ice shards at the witch causing her to stop chanting, breaking the spell. 

She glared at him as she stepped away from the circle. “You little—” She threw her own crystal like shards at him but Minseok was quick to dodge. 

The witch’s attention was now on him. He could see Jongin and Jongdae running over to Baekhyun. 

The witch continued her assault as Minseok built up his defense. He sent another large ice shard at her. “I’m not losing this time!” 

She dodged the shard again grinning at him before attacking with two larger shards. Minseok scrambled to dodge both, he ended up falling backwards and hitting the ground harshly. 

When he sat up, the witch was towering over him her grin menacing. 

“I won’t let you take another one of my friends.” Minseok growled as he tried to stand. 

A brief look of confusion came across the witch’s face. “Another?” Then the confusion faded away as recognition shown in her eyes. “Ah, yes, I remember you now. My, that was quite a long time ago.” 

She created a whip and wrapped it around Minseok’s throat bringing him up off the ground. Minseok glared at her as he grabbed at his neck trying to break the magic tightening around it. 

“Your little friend’s power has helped me quite a bit,” her grinning seemed to grow bigger as Minseok gasped for air, “it’s led me to all of my other targets and even your new friend.” She turned back to where Jongin and the other two were and began chanting the spell again. 

Baekhyun could only hear muffled noises as he turned his head to where it was coming from. He could see bright flashes and shimmers and shadows but couldn’t make any of them out. 

Then he saw a rapid fire of light coming down before two figures were running towards him. The feeling of his energy being drained stopped. He smiled when he recognized Jongin and Jongdae. Baekhyun reached a hand out to them and felt one of them connect their’s with his. 

“I knew you’d find me.” Baekhyun smiled. 

Jongin smiled down at him, tears shining in his eyes. 

Baekhyun gasped as the circle lit up again, letting go of Jongin’s hand. Jongdae fell to his knees. 

Jongin looked around and saw the witch had begun her spell again. He turned back to Baekhyun. 

“B-Baekhyun!” 

Before Jongin could do anything else, Minseok was slammed into him and Jongdae sending the three flying out of the circle. 

Minseok and Jongdae groaned. “How are we going to stop her?” Jongdae asked as Jongin slowly got up. 

“I’m going to distract her. You two get Baekhyun out of here, got it.” 

He didn’t wait for either of the two to answer before shifting and running towards the witch. 

She was too focused on trying to finish the spell that she didn’t notice Jongin coming towards her until he latched his teeth into her shoulder. She screamed as she tried to shake the wolf off her. 

Jongin sank his teeth further into her and she let out another scream. He felt something sharp dig into his side causing him to whimper. He heard the witch starting to laugh as she dug her fingers deeper into Jongin’s side. His grip loosened and the witch was able to get him off her, throwing him harshly against the wall. 

“N-no,” Baekhyun whispered as he watched Jongin hit the wall before landing on the floor with a loud thud. The shapeshifter doesn’t move. 

At the broken sight of Jongin, Baekhyun felt a surge of energy flow through him as he fought to stand. He needed to help Jongin, he couldn’t just lay here, helpless. Lifting a hand, he sent out a beam of light towards the evil witch. 

The Mistress dodged and turned back to him, swinging her whip of darkness towards him, it wrapped around his wrist. 

“Don’t worry dear, we’re almost finished here,” she intoned before beginning the spell again. 

Baekhyun grimaced as his legs began to shake. He looked at the whip around his wrist before wrapping more of it around his hand. Getting a tight grip on it he pulled as hard as he could, bringing the Mistress into the circle. 

“What are you doing?” 

Baekhyun glared at her. “You want my magic?” Breathing heavily, his lips curled into a weak grin. “Fine, have it.” 

He closed his eyes and summoned all of the magic he had left within him and sent it towards the witch. With all his power being summoned at once, Baekhyun began glowing, his hair turned a bright white, skin luminescent, and when he opened his eyes, they shone pure white. 

As he walked forward, Baekhyun continued sending all his magic into her. She wobbled lightly before falling to one knee.

“How?” she asked, a look of confusion and surprise on her face. Even with no spell being spoken she was still somehow absorbing Baekhyun’s magic. 

“You only know that I can see the future and have light magic,” Baekhyun began, sending another wave of magic, “But what you don’t know, is that my light magic is nearly unlimited.” 

With another step forward, the Mistress had fallen onto both her knees now, glaring up at him. Baekhyun bent down to where they could be face to face. “I can create light with magic, but I can also use any source of light to gain more power.” He pointed a finger up to the full moon. “And the moon is a very powerful source.” 

The Mistress’ glare fell as she realized what Baekhyun was doing. Her body began to glow, small beams of light started to come off her. 

“No, no, no!” she shouted, grabbing at her face as more light began seeping from her body before she burst into one huge ball of light. 

The light floated in front of Baekhyun before flying high up into the air and exploding. Smaller balls of light fell from the sky. Each light turned into a person, souls of the ones who the Mistress had taken magic from. 

Minseok and Jongdae stood as they watched the light rain down around them. One ball of light floated towards them before changing into a man with brown hair and light blue eyes. 

Minseok gasped, recognizing the face. 

“Hello Minseok,” the man said, voice warm and light. 

“Luhan, I’m so—" Minseok began but the man held a hand up to stop him.

“Minseok, it wasn’t your fault, ok,” he smiled at him, his eyes full of concern for the man in front of him, knowing the burden he’d been carrying, “please don’t blame yourself for what happened. I want you to live your life without any regrets. I want you to be happy.” He looked at Jongdae. “And you are, so don’t worry about me anymore.”

Minseok blinked away the tears as Luhan leaned in, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. “I’m ok now,” Luhan whispered giving him a soft smile. 

Luhan stepped back and looked at Jongdae. “Thank you,” he smiled brightly, “take good care of him for me, ok?”

Jongdae gave a small smile and nodded. “I will.”

Luhan looked back at Minseok one last time before he turned back into a ball of light and floated up into the sky. 

Jongdae walked over to Minseok and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Are you okay?” 

Minseok nodded wiping away the tears before turning to him. “Yeah.”

They heard someone gasp and turned to see Baekhyun collapsing. 

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae quickly ran over to him while Minseok went to Jongin. 

“Hey, Baekhyun, you’re ok. Just stay with me,” Jongdae said. 

Baekhyun slowly opened and closed his eyes, giving a small nod. He turned his head towards Jongin and Minseok before blacking out. 

When Baekhyun woke again, he was in his room at his parent’s home. He groaned a little as he sat up, body feeling like he had gotten hit by a bus.

He looked around the room to find no one there. He moved to get out of bed and change when he noticed he was in his pajamas. The witch shuffled to the bathroom and gasped when he looked in the mirror. 

His hair was completely white. Baekhyun leaned towards his reflection as he slowly brought a hand up to his hair. 

Then he began to remember everything that happened before he passed out. 

He rushed out of the bathroom, not even bothering to wash up or change. 

Jongin. 

He needed to find Jongin. 

Baekhyun stumbled down the hall. 

“Mr. Kim, I am terribly sorry.” He heard his mother’s voice. 

He slowed down and saw that the door to his mother’s office was slightly opened. 

Peeking through the ajared door, he saw his mother and Jongin’s father standing in the room.

“If I had known what we were up against, I would have never asked for your pack to help,” his mother said. “We would’ve gathered the covens instead of putting your son in such danger.” 

Mr. Kim shook his head. “No, it’s fine, really.” A look of surprise came across his face when he noticed Baekhyun. 

Mrs. Byun turned and gasped before rushing towards her son. “Oh darling, you’re awake!” she cried as she brought him into a tight hug. “We were all so worried about you!” 

Baekhyun felt his eyes begin to water as he hugged her back. 

“Are you okay? You’re not hurting anywhere or anything are you?” She stepped back and began to look him over. 

“I feel fine,” Baekhyun reassured softly. He looked over to Mr. Kim. “Mr. Kim…” Baekhyun bowed, “I’m so sorry for the trouble I’ve brought you and your family.” He could feel the tears welling in his eyes.

He felt a hand on his shoulder bringing him up from his bow. “Baekhyun, it’s alright, you don’t need to apologize.” 

Baekhyun’s brows furrowed in confusion. “But what about Jongin….”

Baekhyun’s mother and Mr. Kim gave each other knowing looks before his mother turned to him smiling. “Why don’t you go to the living room, dear.” 

Baekhyun ran down the hallway, almost sliding past the living room door. He grabbed the door frame nearly breaking it right on the spot. There chatting with Minseok and Jongdae was Jongin. 

The three turned to look at him all surprised looks on their faces. 

“Baekhyun...you’re awake—” Jongin started to say before Baekhyun jumped in his arms, sobbing. 

“You’re ok,” Baekhyun cried, voice muffled by Jongin’s shoulder. 

Jongin hugged him tightly. “Of course I’m ok. Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Baekhyun pulled back wiping away his tears. “Because the last time I saw you, you were thrown against the wall and not moving.” 

Jongin rubbed the back of his head. “Oh yeah, I was just knocked out. Nothing serious.”

“We were more worried about you,” Minseok joined in as he and Jongdae came over. “Especially after you overflowed that witch with your magic.” 

“Yeah, that was dangerous. And stupid,” Jongdae piped in. “But it was also clever.” 

“I know, I’m sorry.” Baekhyun apologized sheepishly, “I just don’t know what came over me.” He looked down in thought, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Jongdae rolled his eyes, while Minseok laughed lightly, bringing Baekhyun’s attention back.

“What?”

“‘Don’t know what came over me’?” Jongdae smiled mischievously, a knowing twinkle in his eyes. Baekhyun blinked at him, not quite understanding what his friend was getting at. With a quick glance at Jongin, it began to click what Jongdae was referring too. 

“O-oh,” Baekhyun’s cheeks heated up immediately. 

“That evil witch hurt your man and you didn’t like it one bit.” Jongdae laughed at Baekhyun’s reddening face and the blush that was now gracing Jongin’s cheeks. 

“I was only doing my job,” Jongin laughed nervously, but upon noticing Baekhyun’s expression falling slightly, he started up again, “I m-mean yes, it was my job to protect you, but I also really like you and wanted to protect you. So in the end, I was always going to be pro—” 

Jongin’s explanation had been cut short by Baekhyun crashing their lips together. 

“Looks like Jongin will be sticking around longer than we expected,” Minseok laughed, when Baekhyun and Jongin pulled away from each other, eyes still locked. 

Taking Baekhyun’s hand in his own, the shifter looked down at their intertwined fingers, before looking back into Baekhyun’s eyes. “If you’d like me too?”

“I’d like that.” The witch smiled brightly, squeezing Jongin’s hand in his own as he leaned forward for another kiss. Minseok and Jongdae cheered beside them as Mrs. Byun and Mr. Kim entered the living room.

“I think my son will be extending his stay.” Jongin’s father smiled in the couple’s direction, the two having broken from their embrace to talk to their friends. Mrs. Byun turned her gaze upon the couple as well, smiling fondly at the two and their still interlocked fingers. “Yes, I think he will.” 

“I’m really digging this new look.” Jongdae motioned to Baekhyun, seemingly to have forgotten his new hair color, he reached up touching the light colored locks. 

“Yeah?” Baekhyun looked to Minseok, who nodded in agreement, then to Jongin, who smiled warmly down at him with a soft ‘yeah’. They continued talking about Baekhyun’s new look, when Mr. Kim cleared his throat from across the room, catching the boys’ attention.

“Well, I think it’s time to head out.” Mr. Kim smiled knowingly at his son, who looked upset.

“Mrs. Byun.” The older man bowed slightly to the woman in front of him as he began to head for the door, only stopping when he noticed his son wasn’t behind him.

“Dad, I want to stay,” Jongin said firmly, realizing what he was saying, he stammered out, “I-if that’s ok with you, Mrs. Byun?” She laughed lightly with a nod of her head. Jongin’s father smiled warmly.

“I know,” the man replied, “I knew you wouldn’t be coming home with me.” Mr. Kim walked back to his son, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Just make sure you come and visit your mother. You know she’d love to meet Baekhyun.” The blush returned to Jongin’s face at his father’s words. He nodded, before Mr. Kim pulled his son into an embrace.

“Are you boys hungry? How does lunch sound?” Mrs. Byun asked, after Jongin’s father had bid his farewell with promises of seeing each other later. Jongdae cheered at the mention of food and walked with Minseok to the dining room. 

“Bodyguard turned boyfriend and who knows now? Maybe you’ll be my future son-in-law.” Mrs. Byun laughed while Jongin blushed hard at the word. 

Baekhyun took Jongin’s hand in his, squeezing lightly. He looked to Jongin eyes sparkling with what the future held for them.

“I know.”


End file.
